Marc of excellence

Anthony leaves fans gasping, and begging for more

July 22, 2002|By Soren Baker. Special to the Tribune.

Using a hidden platform that elevated him to the top of the United Center stage on Saturday, Marc Anthony emerged amid a dense cloud of fog as some sort of sonic superhero. To the zealous devotees screaming for his arrival, it seemed as though Superman was here to save the day.

Dressed in a casual, blue button-up shirt, light-colored jeans and dark sunglasses, Anthony adopted Clark Kent attire, but his music represented purely a suave, party-starting man of steel. From the dramatic introduction played by his ensemble band to the opening notes of his first song, "You Sang To Me," the New York native kept the audience in rapture for the duration of his 95-minute set.

Anthony, an accomplished artist who was lumped into the Latin music explosion kicked off by Ricky Martin's "Livin' la Vida Loca," rose to prominence as a salsa singer in the Big Apple. As is the case with many Latin singers, Anthony enjoyed tremendous success around the globe before becoming a star in the United States, releasing a string of hit albums largely ignored by mainstream America in the '90s.

In 1999, Anthony released "Marc Anthony," his first English album, and became a pop sensation with American fans, thanks to the hits "I Need To Know" and "You Sang To Me." The Valentine's Day 2000 broadcast of "Marc Anthony: The Concert From Madison Square Garden" elevated him from sensation to superstar.

Anthony included an even mix of his Spanish and English hits on Saturday. Giving the audience what they wanted, he and his rotating band -- which included up to 18 members -- stretched out his salsa selections into 10-minute dance extravaganzas and kept his power pop ballads under five minutes.

Indeed, as he noted midway through the concert, "They told me to get ready for you guys. You want to party."

Although Anthony's lyrics are hardly profound, his effectiveness as a performer comes from his non-stop energy and upbeat demeanor. He regularly saluted his appreciative crowd and maintained a fluid pace that did not drag, even between songs.

His best one-two punch came toward the end of the show with a rousing cover of The Eagles' "Hotel California" and "Preciosa." On the former, he ditched his sunglasses and belted out the depressing tale with optimistic fervor, and his impassioned rendition of the latter led to the raising of scores of Puerto Rican flags throughout the audience.

Soon thereafter, Anthony launched into the driving, set-closing "I've Got You," a selection from his "Mended" album, which was released earlier this year. "I'm so glad that I've got you," Anthony enthused to an ocean of applause. The crowd reciprocated their hero's appreciation, egging him on for an encore as soon as he indicated the show was concluding.

Mere moments after exiting the stage, Anthony treated his fans to one more selection: "I Need To Know." Just like the "Hotel California," the fans could have checked out early, but they couldn't leave.